Category: Musings

Place Holder 07

This will be the last place holder for the year. I am still looking forward to the New Year and I am planning for good things. But apprehensive about the future. It is unknown and I don’t know many people these days who are willing to run into that.

Things I think people should be aware of, this post will be live on the second day of Kwanzaa. What is Kwanzaa? I encourage anyone interested to look it up. The barest facts are these. It is the African-American annual celebration, created by Maulana Karenga. First celebrated in the 1960s. The event begins on the day after Christmas and lasts till New Years Day. During that time participants illustrate and demonstrate the seven principles- they are usually in Swahili but I am going to use the translations- Unity, Self Determination, Collective work and responsibility, Cooperative Economics, Purpose, Creativity, and Faith. Monday when this short essay goes up, it will be the day of self-determination and possibly the only reason I mustered the energy to get it out at 10am. Some people are against the celebration for personal, religious and other reasons. Full disclosure I am not a grand celebrant of any holiday. I am lazy and generally get away with doing the bare minimum. Unfortunately, readers, I am the type that takes the Christmas tree down in June. However, I like the principles of Kwanzaa and I believe we should be using them all year with all the people we interact with. So like Feminism, Kwanzaa too should be for everyone.

With determination growing in my spirit, what do I have planned for the website in 2022? I will continue the Quotes for Writers series. I have collected a number of quotes by writers on writing. But we writers are more than just the words, so I will be searching for quotes on health, kindness, positive well-being. Instead of the quotes like ‘writers write’, I want quotes like ‘a kind word can save a life,’ I will admit that sometimes the first is needed but that does not exclude the latter.

I have decided to break the year up into four quarters. In the first quarter, a short story series will be launched the second week in January. The other major writing project is Star Crossed, first draft should be complete at the end of January. I am also looking into ways to grow this website. I know there are things I have to do but there is always the fear of it not working or worse being ridiculed. I am truly not sure how I will handle that. I will definitely have to find some quotes on how to handle that. This week will be an official book review Wednesday. It is the Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal. Not sure if I have written about this book in other posts. The Lady Astronaut series helped me through a tough time in my life. I hope the review does some good for someone.

This is all I have to write for this placeholder. Happy Kwanzaa! Happy New Year!

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Words posted on Wednesday

This post is going to be about me recommitting myself to writing reviews or initial thoughts on subjects I find education, interesting and entertaining, all together or separately.  There is so much media out there – books, movies, films, podcasts, that a person can become overwhelmed.  I often wonder if I’ve been on another planet when I find an entertaining or educational gem and they have been producing content for years.  I also wonder what makes something a hit in the past and a miss now.  Why do some fans become viscerally angry about remakes, reimaginings, prequels, and sequels? Why do some adaptations blow up spawning new fans and others burn? There are many platforms that highlight these topics.   I am adding my 5 cents.  I will put serious effort into my thoughts, references, and suggestions.

I have been writing that Wednesday is a review day for a long time.  It was the plan at the beginning of 2021.  I struggled with a rating system.  It may have been noticed in previous reviews, there is a distinct like or dislike.  I will be adding a standard 5-system, silver, and gold.  Not sure yet what will get 5 silver stars and what will get 5 gold.  I have a composition book that has been converted to a reading journal.  I also have shiny washi tape and gold and silver stars of various shapes.  I guess I will have to call it a media journal now, since notes about films, animations and podcasts will be in there as well.   That plan may go south but it is in practice for the next 3 months. 

I won’t be releasing a list until January. Some reviews will be on new subjects and some will be revisits. I believe in accountability but I also know myself. This will be the last weird tilted Wednesday post for this year I think. In the future, if one is posted you know something odd went on over the weekend.

This weekend will be Christmas. I hope all goes well for everyone.

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